Tickle Bugs
by DOTBF
Summary: Native to Sinnoh's Underground...but only when Volkner and Roark are there. Beware the yaoi! roark x volkner rated for a bit of inuendo


**After going on a rediculous Pokemon high for...like...a week, I finally began browsing around for images of Roark cause he's my favorite of the Leaders and all, and what do I come across? Roark and Volkner (my second favorite Leader) and I fell in love with the couple. Then I figured, hey, maybe Fanfiction will have some stories...though it would seem that there is a distinct lack of them. And dammit, I say we need some!**

Beware the Crack Pair!!  
**Roark x Volkner**

Running around in Sinnoh's Underground was, in itself, very amusing. There were always countless people to meet, gems to dig up, and Bases to decorate. And besides all that, a person could spend hours roaming the tunnels, taking a leisurely walk, getting away from the chaos of Topside, or playing some elongated version of Hide-and-Seek-Tag.

Regardless of what was the to-do of the day, it was a given that Oreburgh's Gym Leader never tired of the Underground. In fact he enjoyed it there very much, having spent most of his childhood following his father around the Mines. And he liked to think that since he was so at home under the ground, and that he had a plethora of Earth and Ground type Pokemon at his disposal, that the very thought of getting lost was way out of the question.

Though he also never pictured himself sneaking away in the middle of the night to his Underground to meet up with the esteemed Leader of Sunnyshore Gym. And for purposes far from business, no less.

Roark looked up sharply, his glasses slipping off the bridge of his nose. He swore he had just heard someone call his name, and to confirm he glanced down to where his Cranidos was flanking him. His companion returned his gaze quizzically and at it Roark heaved a sigh,

"I swear sometimes, I must be spending too much time down here. It's starting to affect my hearing." He paused and reached under his hardhat and scratched at the back of his head.

"Rooooark!"

"Alright I know I heard that." He said, glancing up and down the corridors for the source of the voice. When it called again Roark deemed it closer and shouted back, "Where are you?!"

The voice shouted something inaudible and it earned a frown from the Gym Leader,

"What?!" he yelled. He was answered with silence, "Hello?" He tried again, and earned similar results. He was about to shout out a third time, but before he'd even drawn the breath to do so, he was collided into from behind sending both he and his attacker toppling to the ground.

Roark opened his eyes to find himself flat on his back with none other than Volkner kneeling over him. In spite of a valiant effort to keep such a gesture in check, Roark knew that he was blushing. And Volkner knew it too, smiling fondly down at his fellow Gym Leader, though it only caused Roark's blush to deepen.

Behind them, their two Pokemon sat in inquisitive silence. It was no surprise that the Leaders' respective teams knew all about the meetings and the secret affections between the two. And it was no surprise that their Pokemon—ever loyal and willing to do anything for their Trainers' happiness—busied themselves finding ways to bring the two Leaders closer together. Cranidos turned its steely eyes up on Volkner's Luxio, flicking them towards the Lightning Trainer and back once it had gained the cat's attention. The latter grinned, exposing its fangs and rose to its feet.

Despite popular belief, Pokemon are very devious, and are more than capable of playing matchmaker.

Volkner couldn't deny being surprised when out of nowhere his Luxio and Roark's Cranidos pounced on him from behind, their combined weight proving too much for him to hold up, and his arms buckled. And without his arms to support him any longer, Volkner found himself falling forward, on top of Roark, their lips meeting in an impromptu kiss. As it happened, Volkner was dimly aware of the two Pokemon leaping off him and running (with good cause) down the corridor and around the corner. Roark was already in motion, blushing heavily and turning to give chase. The Lightning Trainer looped his arms around the smaller man's waist, holding him fast, he whispered to him,

"Let them go." He crooned softly, "You can't get mad at them when we both know you liked it…"

Roark turned his half embarrassed, half affectionate, brown-eyed gaze on the older Leader, smiling softly.

"A lot." He finished, relaxing tense muscles, "But what if they get lost?"

"You kidding?" Volkner teased, "With the amount of time you spend down here, Cranidos had _better_ know his way around." He provoked silent laughter from Roark, and it induced Volkner's smile to broaden.

They remained sprawled on the ground for several minutes more, enjoying the forced contact, neither having any particular interest in breaking from it.

Roark was the first to realize what movement was again, and shifted when his watched beeped, announcing midnight. He sighed deeply, contentedly, and began to sit up. Volkner moved to do the same, though thought better of it and his smile twisted into a grin. Before Roark could do anything, the Lighting Trainer had tackled him over backwards,

"Don't move." He whispered; the tone was such that Roark couldn't quite distinguish if it were serious or teasing, "You've got bugs all over you…"

Startled, Roark froze,

"I…I do?"

"Yea," Volkner murmured, "Sit still and let me get em' all off you."

"Wh-what kind?" the inquiry came, and Volkner realized that Roark believed him. And while it was a ridiculous level of cute, he figured he might as well be blatantly obvious about it,

"The worse kind…" he whispered, his grin turning devious, "_Tickle bugs_!"

Volkner watched for only a second as Roark's eyes widened. However the next second his attention became concentrated on preventing any escape maneuvers that the younger Leader saw fit to make. Volkner's hands immediately found his friend's sides, and busied them with digging softly into his ribs. Roark's response instantly came in the form of wild squirming and messily bottled up giggles.

"Volkner! Don't—" Roark began, but had to clamp his hands over his mouth to prevent a fresh giggle spasm from coming out as the older Leader's hands shifted down and drew circles around his navel. He was not going to give the other Trainer the pleasure of breaking his willpower. He could keep up the way he was for awhile, and that would give him time to figure out how to escape. From above him, Volkner spoke, his voice heavy with fake concern and genuine affection,

"Uh-oh, looks like those bugs are starting to get into your shirt!"

Ah, well…he'd tried.

Roark lost it when the older Leader snaked his hands under the tight black shirt he wore under his jacket, wriggling his fingers into all the particularly sensitive spots. His laughter came up in bubbly gasps between breaths and without the need for his hands to be covering his mouth, Roark made sad attempts to protect himself. Volkner, however, was much quicker than he and proceeded to switch tactics faster than the younger Leader could predict, effectively evading his defenses.

"Volkner-! Mercy!" Roark gasped after said Leader had made some comment about the "bugs" going for Ground Trainer's now completely exposed stomach. And when Volkner took no notice of him, Roark shouted his pleas louder, "Mercy! Mercy! Mercy!" He was relieved when the older Leader's hands faltered and he paused in his assault,

"S' matter?" He teased, laughing softly, "I thought you prided yourself with having 'Rock Hard Defense' what happened to that?"

Roark took a moment to draw up deep, gasping breaths before answering,

"I meant my _Pokemon_." His reply came with a bit of an exasperated note to it. Volkner's laugh grew a bit in volume and he hovered his hands over his friend's stomach, teasingly wiggling his fingers,

"I do wonder what Riley's going to say when I tell him how ticklish you are." He drank up the look of utter dread on Roark's face,

"Don't do that…" he whined, "I'll never get my reputation back."

Volkner's smile turned affectionate,

"You know…I think I missed one of those bugs…" he said softly, watching as Roark met his eyes,

"Yea? And where'd that one go?" he couldn't deny being a bit startled when Volkner's smile turned devious again,

"Your pants." He said simply, and those two words prompted the younger Leader's face to turn a color close to a tomato,

"Noooooo! That is totally, and completely, unca—ahh!" Roark had begun to sit up and back away in the midst of his miniature rant. Though Volkner would have nothing of it and shadowed his movements, eventually pouncing on him, throwing his arms around his waist, and blowing a long, playful raspberry against Roark's stomach. And he was very pleased when it rendered his friend absolutely powerless; sunk too deep in a giggle fit to do anything to better his situation.

Roark woke up the next morning to a throbbing headache. And the banging on the door wasn't doing it any good. He sat up slowly, noting Cranidos at the foot of the bed, still asleep. Ignoring whomever was on the other side of the door, Roark shakily rose to his feet, steadying himself on one of the bedposts and rubbing the two-and-a-half hours of sleep from his eyes. He then groggily put his glasses on and stumbled into the improvised kitchen to begin to make coffee. Apartments built behind Gym's proved not to be such an amazing idea after all,

"Roark, I can hear you in there, open up!" The voice came muffled through the door. The banging stopped for a moment which granted Oreburgh's Leader space to answer,

"Leave me alone, I got no sleep last night." He whined. The voice laughed,

"Don't talk to me about not sleeping; I'm the one who flew two-and-a-half hours over Mount Coronet to visit you."

Roark turned and gazed at the door,

"Volkner?"

"Damn right! Now open up, its cold out here."

Roark stumbled to the door, unlocked it and heaved it open. Volkner, in all his wind-battered, sleep-deprived glory, stood propping himself up against the doorframe, Luxio at his feet. The Leader's smile was cool and calm,

"G'morning, sunshine." He said softly, "How was your two-and-a-half hours of sleep that I didn't get to enjoy as well?"

Roark just looked at him, unsure of what to make of it,

"What possessed you to fly over here?" he choked out after a moment. Volkner smiled at him,

"Oh, just a red-head Gym Leader I'm rather fond of." He replied pleasantly, "I figured after last night you might like some company, and a bit of help waking up."

Roark returned the smile,

"I would like that." He said softly.

They met each other's eyes for a minute before Volkner lifted a hand to further tossle his friend's hair,

"You gonna let me come in or what?" he teased, laughing silently and stepping inside when Roark held open the door for him. He hung his jacket up on the coat hook and left his shoes on the mat,

"Make yourself at home," Roark called from the kitchen, swallowing a yawn, "I'm making coffee if you'd like some."

Volkner made a noise in agreement and sank onto the couch, only half noticing Luxio emerging from Roark's bedroom with Cranidos flanking him. The younger Leader appeared after a moment, offering the Lightning Trainer a mug of coffee, which he readily accepted. Only when the pair had finished their drinks did Roark speak again,

"How long are you going to stay?" he asked softly. Volkner shrugged, and put an arm around the younger Leader when he leaned against his shoulder,

"As long as you want." Was the reply. Roark smiled softly and snuggled closer to the other trainer,

"You know what?" he said after a moment of silence, continuing only when Volkner had made the inquisitive noise in his throat, "I love you."

Volkner smiled and hugged him tighter,

"I love you too." He returned, then smiled wider, "You know, you got off way easy last night."

"Did I?" Roark's reply came a bit challenging, "If memory serves you had me at the end of my rope."

"Nah." Volkner insisted, turning to look down on the younger Leader, "You had shoes on last night. If it weren't for that, I'd have gotten you worse."

"It wouldn't have mattered," Roark said matter-of-factly, doing his best to disguise a blatant lie, "My feet aren't ticklish."

Volkner laughed,

"I find that hard to believe, with the rest of you being so hypersensitive."

"Well, its true." The younger trainer said and shrugged. Volkner shook his head, his laughter turned silent,

"Y'know…I kept one of those Tickle Bugs from last night…I've got him right here in my pocket." He paused for dramatic effect, "We could always test to see if you're telling the truth…" So speaking, Volkner reached a hand into his pants pocket, made a fist, and pulled it back out, holding it up for Roark to see. The younger Leader's eyes followed it, "Last chance to take it back…"

Roark met his gaze,

"What if I were to steal that Bug of yours." He said, his smile soft, "And what if I were to let it crawl all over _you_?"

Volkner matched his smile,

"It wouldn't matter, cause my Bug here only listens to me." He said, moving his hand over Roark's stomach, "Have any last words?"

Roark thought for a moment before smiling,

"Yea…I do, actually." He paused a second, then, "Now!!"

From behind, Volkner felt the combined weight of Cranidos and Luxio jumping on top of him, forcing him down, flat on his face. He turned over as quickly as he could to try and protect himself, but Roark had already pounced on him, digging his fingers into his ribs and making the older Leader squirm and hold his breath to keep from laughing out loud,

"That was a dirty trick!" he managed to gasp, quickly biting his lip to keep his own laughing spasm down.

"Course' it was." Roark said, grinning, "I sure can't get you playing fair." Though as he spoke, the Ground Trainer failed to notice Volkner's hands which had slowly crept up under the disguise of defense, and in one swift movement had shot out and grabbed the younger Leader around the waist, dragged him down next to the older one, pinned him helpless and proceeded to reenact the previous night's events.

Only after Volkner had reduced his friend to a limp, giggling mess did he withdraw. He slid his arms around the younger Leader, hugging him close, and softly kissed his cheek,

"You can't even get me playing dirty." He whispered. Roark's response came just as soft,

"No…but getting you back…wasn't my intent."

At his answer Volkner couldn't help but smile.

**The End**

**Volkner, Roark, & Pokemon in general © 2007 Nintendo**


End file.
